The field of the invention relates generally to electrical fuses and, more specifically, to higher-ampacity fuses and associated accessories that are made in a more cost-effective manner.
Fuses are widely used as overcurrent protection devices to prevent costly damage to electrical circuits. Fuse terminals typically form an electrical connection between an electrical power source or power supply and an electrical component or a combination of components arranged in an electrical circuit. One or more fusible links or elements, or a fuse element assembly, is connected between the fuse terminals, so that when electrical current flowing through the fuse exceeds a predetermined limit, the fusible elements melt and open one or more circuits through the fuse to prevent electrical component damage. In that regard, conventional fuses are typically designated with ampacity ratings that are indicative of their predetermined current limits. For example, some fuses have lower ampacity ratings (e.g., ampacity ratings of 600 A, 400 A, 200 A, or lower), while other fuses have higher ampacity ratings (e.g., an ampacity rating of 1200 A or higher). By comparison, lower-ampacity fuses tend to be more widely used and, thus, tend to have a greater demand in the market.
Because higher-ampacity fuses are generally made with larger fuse elements than lower-ampacity fuses, higher-ampacity fuses are generally made with larger housings and/or terminals as well. The accessories (e.g., fuse holders) for lower-ampacity fuses thus tend to be incompatible with higher-ampacity fuses, and vice versa. As a result, lower-ampacity fuses and higher-ampacity fuses are often provided with their own specially-designed accessories. However, given that higher-ampacity fuses have less market demand than lower-ampacity fuses, it can be cost-prohibitive to make higher-ampacity fuses with specially-designed accessories. To facilitate making higher-ampacity fuses and their accessories in a more cost-effective manner, it would be useful to design higher-ampacity fuses and accessories that can be made with minimal modification to the hardware of lower-ampacity fuses and their accessories.